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What’s up, White Sox fans?
Remember that guy who gave up a homer to Tim Anderson, and after Anderson flipped his bat, hit Anderson with a pitch, sparking an on-field brouhaha and a bigger discussion about the game’s unwritten rules?
Yeah, that guy’s on the Sox now.
I mean, he’s kind of on the Sox. The team gave Brad Keller a minor league deal late last week and invited him to join big league camp, which only has about two weeks left. While it was perfect fodder for Twitter outrage, Keller’s arrival will probably be somewhat meaningless.
Keller’s results have been somewhat awful for a few years now. He pitched in only 11 games for the Royals last season. In the two seasons prior, his ERA was above 5.00. This is a classic flier to see if Keller has anything left in the tank so he can provide some minor-league starting-pitching depth, something the Sox were woefully short on in recent years.
But whether Keller ever pitches for the big league team or not, this signing is still just plain weird.
When Anderson blasted a homer off Keller in a May game in 2019, he flipped his bat. It was fun. Keller didn’t think so and acted as an upholder of the game’s unwritten rules (which are not fun) and plunked him in his next at-bat. Anderson got mad, used a racially-charged word and earned a suspension. So did Keller for, you know, starting it.
But the whole thing proved a flashpoint. The sport, at large, talked about what should and shouldn’t be celebrated, and most folks seemed to come down on the side of an entertainment product being more entertaining when personality and emotion are part of the show.
The best counter argument to Keller’s actions came from then-manager Ricky Renteria, who said, “You want him to not do that? Get him out.”
The Sox rallied around Anderson. The team seemed to be having more fun than anyone during the 2020 season and were fun to watch because of it. The marketing department used Anderson’s words for their “change the game” slogan.
Keller was less than remorseful for his role in the whole thing, talking on a podcast a year later and explaining his (and apparently his teammates’) distaste at Anderson not reserving such a celebration for Game 7 of the World Series. Commence eyeroll.
Well, fast forward to 2024. Anderson is gone, the Sox not picking up his option in the early stages of the offseason. Keller is here, part of the vast number of starting-pitching types (and former Royals) in spring camp.
In the end, it’ll probably mean nothing. Remember the uproar when the Bulls signed former Knicks agitator John Starks, and his tenure with the team lasted all of four games? This will probably be like that more than it will be like A.J. Pierzynski’s lengthy South Side stay in the wake of his time spent bothering the Sox as a division-rival Twin.
But the juxtaposition of Anderson departing at the outset of Chris Getz’s organizational makeover and attempt at crafting a new team identity – one he argued didn’t exist in the final few years of Rick Hahn’s rebuilding project, which obviously featured Anderson – and Keller, this symbol (intentionally or unintentionally) of a less fun version of baseball, arriving is, pardon the pun, stark.
In the best-case scenario for the Sox, Keller is able to go to Triple-A Charlotte and rediscover what made him successful in the early years of his big league career – he had a 3.50 ERA in 78 games from 2018 to 2020 – proving himself a potential option for when there’s a starting-pitching need at the major league level.
The worst-case scenario? He doesn’t figure anything out, gets rocked at Triple-A and never pitches for the big league team.
The weirdest scenario of all? Keller getting a shot with the Sox and his own fans less than thrilled to see him while a large number of them still sport Anderson jerseys. Or even weirder? Keller pitching for the Sox when they visit Anderson and the Marlins in early July.
Bizarro world.
Talk to you next week,
Vinnie Duber
CHGO White Sox beat writer
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